Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Conybeare: Suo ipsius indicio periit sorex: The Ratte betrayed herself with her owne noyse and so was taken. It is a proverbiall speakinge of anybodye that ys betrayed by his owne wordes.

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Beatum est potius dare quam recipere (English: It is more blessed to give than to take).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Tithoni senecta (English: The old age of Tithonus; from Adagia 1.6.65 - Tithonus was the moral lover of the goddess Eos who asked that he be granted immortality, but she forgot to ask that he be granted eternal youth as well!).

Tiny Proverbs: Today's tiny proverb is: Amaltheae cornu (English: The horn of Amalthea). Amalthea, sometimes shown as a goddess, sometimes as a divine she-goat, was the one who nursed Zeus when he was a baby concealed in a cave on the island of Crete.

For an image today, here is the divine goat Amalthea shown on the obverse of a coin:

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Nemo nisi sapiens liber est. (English: No one, unless he is wise, is free). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.

Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Mus non ingrediens antrum, cucurbitam ferebat (English: The mouse couldn't get into its hole because it was carrying a pumpkin; from Adagia 3.3.79).

Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Taverner: Neque mel, neque apes: I have neither honie, nor bees. As who should say: I have no hony, bycause I have no bees, nor will not take the paines, to kepe and abide the bitinge and stinginge of them.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Here is a round-up of today's blog posts - plus an announcement about this summer's project. I've now got a basic, very preliminary first draft done of the Scala Sapientiae: Latin Vocabulary Through Proverbs. Using a database program and some fancy algorithms, I've found a way to organize 5000 Latin proverbs in a kind of ladder, so that you can move through the proverbs "step by step" (hence the ladder) with no more than one new vocabulary word needed as you move through the proverbs one by one. To see how this works, take a look at Scala Proverbs 1-50, 51-100 and 101-150 which I've published today in blog format. I hope to add about one hundred proverbs each day for the rest of the summer as I make my own way through the ladder. You can find out more about the project here: Climbing the Scala Sapientiae. I'm curious what people think about this - it's a project I have gotten really fascinated with, and I hope it will end up being useful to others, too!

3-Word Mottoes Verb-less: Today's 3-word verb-less motto is Celeritas et veritas (English: Swiftness and truth - although I guess it might be better to say "truthfulness" to capture the sound pattern of the Latin).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Sicut canis ad Nilum, bibens et fugiens (English: Like a dog at the Nile, drinking and fleeing - he is fleeing to escape the crocodiles, as the Aesop's fable explains).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Qui ignorat ignorabitur (English: He who is ignorant will be ignorant in the future).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Attici Eleusinia inter sese (English: The Athenians keep the Eleusinian mysteries to themselves; from Adagia 2.5.66; you can read what we know today about the Eleusinian Mysteries in this Wikipedia article).

Greek Proverb of the Day: Today's proverb is Δυεῖν ἐπιθυμήσας, οὐδετέρου ἔτυχες (English: Trying to get two, you end up with neither one).

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Omne solum forti patria est ut piscibus aequor (English: Every land is a homeland for the courageous man, as water is a homeland for the fish). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.

Animal Proverb from Erasmus: Today's animal proverb from Erasmus is Tunc canent cygni, cum tacebunt graculi (English: When the jackdaws fall silent, the swans will sing - although if the jackdaws refuse to be quiet, we will never get to hear those swans singing; from Adagia 3.3.97).

For an image today, here is a postage stamp showing Hercules and Geryon:

3-Word Mottoes: Today's 3-word motto is In tempestate floresco (English: I flourish in the storm).

3-Word Proverbs: Today's 3-word proverb is Veritas vos liberabit (English: The truth will set you free).

Rhyming Proverbs: Today's proverb with rhyme is: Non lapis hirsutus fit per loca multa volutus (English: A stone does not get hairy when it is rolled through many places - which is to say "a rolling stone gathers no moss").

Elizabethan Proverb Commentary: Here is today's proverb commentary, this time by Taverner: Canes timidi vehementius latrant: Fearefull dogges do barke the sorer. Greate braggers commonly be least fighters, and most cowardes, even as the most barking dogges, be for the most part lest biters.

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is MOS - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Si fueris Romae, Romano vivito more, which expresses in Latin the same saying we have in English: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" (that vivito in the Latin phrase is a future imperative).

In addition, I've put in the scripts for some daily stories and proverbs below; they won't come through in the email, but just check the blog post to see what's new for the day... it will be automatically updated while I am gone, thanks to the magic of javascript!

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is SIVE / SEU - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Neque Iuppiter ipse - sive pluat seu non - unicuique placet, "Not even Jupiter himself - whether he rains or doesn't - can please everybody" (a nice reminder of the fact that Jupiter stood for the "weather" in Latin, in addition to being the father of gods and men!).

Latin Animal Proverb: Today's animal proverb is Mus rapitur subito, qui solo vivit in antro (English: A mouse is quickly caught if he lives in a single mousehole).

Proverbs of Polydorus: Today's proverb from Polydorus is: Plus valet bonum nomen, quam divitiae multae (English: A good name is worth more than many riches - a proverb that resonates nicely with today's anecdote about Themistocles, supra).

Proper Name Proverb from Erasmus: Today's proper name proverb from Erasmus is Multitudo imperatorum Cariam perdidit (English: An abundance of generals lost Caria; from Adagia 2.7.7 - something like "too many cooks spoil the soup," but with the great city of Caria in place of the soup).

VERBUM HODIERNUM: Today's word is PONO - read a brief essay about the word at the Verbosum blog. Here's one of the sayings you can find in the essay: Pone gulae metas; erit tibi longa aetas, "Put limits on your greedy eating; you will have a long life" (notice that the Latin rhymes, too!).

Audio Latin Proverb: Today's audio Latin proverb is Palma non sine pulvere (English: No palm without dust). To read a brief essay about this proverb and to listen to the audio, visit the Latin Via Proverbs blog.